Decision to retain Jewish conversion prayer criticised

The former chief rabbi of Ireland David Rosen has expressed "deep regret and disappointment" at a Vatican decision to retain a prayer for the conversion of Jews in its revised version of the Good Friday liturgy.

Rev Rosen, who is chairman of the International Jewish committee on Inter-religious Consultations, yesterday described the Vatican's new Good Friday (Latin) prayer as a "regression".

The former chief rabbi was the first Israeli citizen, the first Orthodox rabbi and the fifth living Jew to become a papal knight.

He was invested Knight Commander of the Pontifical Order of St Gregory the Great by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with Jewry.

The changes made to the Latin prayer include the removal of a reference to Jewish "blindness"when it came to recognition of Christ as saviour, and the deletion of a phrase which asked God to "remove the veil from their (Jews) hearts". But it still says Jews should recognise Jesus Christ as the saviour of all men and retains an underlying call for their conversion.

"While we appreciate that some of the deprecatory language has been removed . . . we are deeply troubled and disappointed that the framework and intention to petition God for Jews to accept Jesus as Lord was kept intact," said Abraham Foxman, the US national director of the Anti-Defamation League.

Rome's Chief Rabbi Riccardo Segni called the revised prayer "a serious step backwards that poses a fundamental obstacle" to Catholic-Jewish relations and which has put "decades of progress into doubt".

Jewish groups had complained last year when pope Benedict issued a decree allowing wider use of the Latin Mass with a re-introduction of the old Good Friday prayer and asked the Pope to change it.

The revised prayer will be in use from Good Friday next.